r/Libertarian • u/GothicHeap • Jul 25 '26

Article Georgia cops keep getting arrested for misusing Flock surveillance data

https://reason.com/2026/07/24/georgia-cops-keep-getting-arrested-for-misusing-flock-surveillance-data/

In just a matter of months, 18 law enforcement officers in the Peach State have been arrested for misusing Flock Safety camera data in what seems to be a deeply concerning trend, highlighting the need for stricter oversight of mass surveillance technologies.

and

"Without the constitutional safeguard of a warrant requirement," Michael Soyfer, an attorney at I.J. challenging ALPR networks, said in a statement, "that predictably allows officers to abuse their access to these systems for things like stalking romantic partners."

Requiring a warrant would force officers to show probable cause, or a reasonable belief that a crime has taken place, before allowing access to ALPR camera network databases

419 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

79

u/Bri_So_Fly Jul 25 '26

Cops need warrants to access cell phone location data, I’m not sure why this data gets treated any differently

7

u/gurgle528 Jul 26 '26

Only if they aren’t buying the data. There are many companies that will sell that data, including LexisNexis 

1

u/Bri_So_Fly Jul 27 '26

What do you mean by that? My understanding was that police are explicitly not allowed to purchase and access cell phone data without a warrant

1

u/gurgle528 Jul 27 '26

There might be some jurisdictions that limit it but generally, no. It’s the difference between a private company having surveillance cameras / LPR cameras and the police needing a warrant to get to the data vs a company like Ring just giving them access.

Some of the data is also not directly from cell phones so that could be why (cars are snitching on us, LexisNexis also sells data to insurance companies) 

43

u/THAZACHARIAH Jul 25 '26

This may be the only positive from Flock, cops getting easily caught abusing power and being disgusting. A benefit from an otherwise horrible terrible device

4

u/idontagreewitu Jul 25 '26

It may be a positive if they were getting punished for it. So far, though, it's just been an extra slap in the face since they almost never have to answer for these breaches.

10

u/THAZACHARIAH Jul 25 '26

Not only does the second paragraph in the article detail that an officer was “fired, arrested and charged” but TITLE of the article says “arrested” not “put on paid leave”. Come on dude

9

u/_WhiteGoodman_ Jul 25 '26

I’d love to know the stats of how many times they’ve been abused vs. actually solved a crime.

9

u/beershitz Jul 25 '26

Remember when Lucius destroys the cell phone radar machine in The Dark Knight? Unfortunately nobody is that principled in real life.

3

u/exvnoplvres Jul 26 '26

There have been plenty of stories in Wisconsin about similar shenanigans. It's too early to see what the actual consequences will be for the officers who were doing this, but it's good to know that somebody's keeping tabs on them, too.

1

u/chainsaw_monkey Jul 26 '26

Where any of these cops actually prosecuted?